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AO dental professionals adhere to the SMILE Practice Protocol—aligned with the highest standards of oral surgery and clinical care in implant dentistry—set forth by the Academy of Osseointegration.
What is Osseointegration?
What is an osseointegrated implant?
A dental implant is a titanium screw or cylinder-shaped device that is surgically inserted into the jaw bone and adheres to the bone through a process called osseointegration. Osseointegrated implants are used to support prosthetic tooth replacements of various designs and functionality, replacing anything from a single missing tooth to a full arch (all teeth in the upper and/or lower jaw). Since the implant device fuses directly to the bone, it offers strength and durability to the new tooth—the abutment that sits on top of the embedded titanium implant and holds the most visible component—the crown. These replacement teeth are typically made to match the existing enamel color of each patient which offer a completely natural appearance and a whole new smile.
The science of osseointegration
Dental implants work by a process known as osseointegration which occurs when bone cells attach themselves directly to the titanium surface, essentially locking the implant into the jaw bone. This process was first discovered by a Swedish researcher, Prof. Dr. Per-Ingvar Brånemark, in the 1960’s. Dr. Branemark had observed that titanium could integrate with living bone tissue and subsequently called this phonomenon “osseointegration”.
His investigations and clinical trials ultimately led to the creation of the first predictable and successful dental implant system. This ground-breaking discovery also led to breakthroughs in other medical fields and led to the development of a host of non-dental devices such as bone-anchored hearing aids and facial prostheses.
Dr. Branemark’s discovery and subsequent research has since revolutionized dentistry, even though his discovery happened accidentally. During experiments to establish a connection between healing and marrow mechanisms in bone, Dr. Branemark was utilizing an inspection chamber that could be surgically inserted into living bone tissue—in this case, a rabbit tibia. He used titanium due to its availability but at the time, titanium was little understood and its uses were mainly unknown outside military and aerospace applications.
After Dr. Branemark concluded his experiments, he wanted to retrieve the titanium chambers from the bone tissue, as they were expensive and he wished to reuse them. However, he found instead that the bone had grown into the crevices and threads of the titanium surface and had become an integral part of the bone structure.
Irritated that he would not be able to salvage these instruments, he did not immediately consider the enormous benefits that his serendipitous discovery would provide to medical science. However, it didn’t take long for the scientist to realize the enormous benefits of this discovery, and through subsequent years of continued scientific research and clinical testing, dental implants have proven results with a very high success rate, and have become a popular treatment protocol for missing teeth—around the world.
The Birth of Osseointegration
Meet Dr. Branemark
Even though it was discovered by accident, years of experimentation and scientific analysis have led to the high success rates of osseointegration as it is applied with dental implants. Many of the founders of the Academy of Osseointegration studied under Dr. Branemark and their work has laid the foundation for AO’s mission of education and research.
In this video, those who knew Dr. Branemark share their memories of working with him in the early days of dental implants. Also hear Dr. Branemark explain, in his own words, how this groundbreaking discovery changed his world and the dental profession over the last 50 years.